Healthy Eating…Intermittent Fasting…

For quite a while now I have been intermittent fasting and didn’t know it… Last week I discussed the Keto diet as my son is following this eating plan… I listened to him and some things I agree with and Keto does recommend that you do take part in intermittent fasting.

As you know I believe in a healthy balanced eating plan, eating normal food not calorie counting unless you really want to…Healthy eating should be a way of life …There are very few people who can stick to a restricted diet for any length of time…

Unless medically advised our diet should be balanced and not loaded one way or another with certain food groups.

I also know how hard it can be for some who are addicted to sugar either soda drinks or sweet processed foods…I have been there …Sometimes though as Sally explains it is not you who is lacking in willpower but a fungus which is living in your tummy and the sugars which feed it… To read more about the subject pop over to Sally’s it is a very good series and although I don’t have a problem with sugar I have learnt quite a lot about healthy eating…

Well… we only have one body and when you look at it we can abuse that bod but if we start treating it properly it responds really well…To me, that is an awesome piece of machinery…Don’t you think…

Fasting has also always conjured up that image of being starved of food or a feeling of calm…I certainly didn’t look upon my eating pattern as fasting or starving myself but I am calm …Most of the time …

Intermittent Fasting.

What is it? Short term fasts which mean you are consuming fewer calories and that is it!

There are three main categories:-

Some people reduce their calories over a two day period and consume 500-600 calories a day during those two days …The other 5 days they eat normally…which doesn’t mean binging to make up for those two days when your calorific intake was reduced…It ain’t that easy…

Others opt for 24-hour fasts either dinner to dinner the next day or breakfast to breakfast the next day just 24 hours straight… This they do once or twice a week and eat normally on the other days…

Me…I follow the third option...I don’t eat after 7 or 8pm at night and don’t eat before 10-11 the next day…It is called the 16/8 method…For me this is easy…What I hear you say what’s easy about that???

I dropped quite easily into this eating pattern when I moved here one because of the heat and two I can’t eat 3 meals a day it is too much for me…Now that could be an age thing or the fact my tummy has shrunk…

I will be honest I have cut out certain eating habits for example when little Lily visits it is a treat for her to go to 7/11 after she has eaten her dinner and she has always bought Nannie 2 bags of jelly teddy bears which of course I ate…It would have been rude not to…haha

Sunny evenings also are conducive to a sundowner or three they creep up on you, don’t they?

Numero three was when hubby brought me my morning cuppa he also added two digestives to the plate…Sally’s little chart soon put paid to that habit…Do you know how many calories and lbs 2 digestive biscuits(graham crackers) a day add up to over a year…I do now…That habit was kicked into touch…Those biscuits were the first to go…

The jellies were next to go as because Lily brought Nannie Jelly’s when she was here so did grandad when he went to 7/11…It has now been at least 4 months since a bag of jelly teddies has passed my lips…

The last habit to get kicked into touch was my sundowners…28 days without a drop and that included 2 nights out and a weekend visit from my son…So I feel I have a right to be chuffed with myself…

Why am I telling you this?

To show you that

1. It can be done.

2. It has been done over a period of time and not all at once…

My belly fat is still reducing and I have lost a few pounds and inches…

Do I count calories no and I enjoy my two meals …Lovely curries or stir-fries, maybe a cheese platter with some fruit…I eat what I fancy and I will be having a pancake tonight as it is Shrove Tuesday …

I snack on fruit as it is so plentiful here or enjoy a fruit smoothie…Which is why I will not be following the Keto eating plan as it restricts fruit and certain vegetables and although I have been told there are good fats…Please, how many avocados can one eat in a day…You do invariably then eat the bad fats, the processed fats and that much fat is not good for your long term health…

From 8 pm until whenever I sleep which could be 10pm it could be 2am…During that time I am writing, watching a movie or reading…I also have a pot of green tea…Yes, that is allowed on Intermittent fasting…

You can drink water, coffee, tea or other non-alcoholic drink any beverage which is under 50 calories..a splash of milk is fine in your tea or coffee.

I then sleep ..very well I will add especially since I cut out the sundowners out until my alarm goes off at 6 am…

I then get Aston up… my grandson as he leaves for school just after 7 am…I get his breakfast, iron his school shirt then when I have seen Aston of to school I have my pot of green tea while I check my e-mails and answer any comments on my blog.

I also start writing as I am doing now @ 9.47 am…10 am I feed my sourdough and today I am having Grapow Moo with an egg which I will cook once I have fed my sourdough…It will then be 10.30 ish maybe 11 am…Am I starving…No!

This routine works for me…

I will then go for a walk as hubby wants some grass seed and hang the washing out…

When I come back I will have a glass of coconut water and probably an apple, some Marian fruit and tamarind with maybe a little piece of the lovely blue cheese I bought on Saturday. I have found someone who imports cheese at a very good price…yummy 🙂

During the afternoon I will have another pot of green tea and then probably a Thai green Curry tonight.

Then it is evening, Green tea and bed at some point…As you all know if we get engrossed in our writing/reading the time just flies by.

I really don’t see this 16/8 as fasting as some is sleeping and being busy… I walk every day, some days I am trying out new recipes and of course, I am reading and writing…I honestly am busy most of the time and sometimes I have to remind myself to eat…My bad 😦

Whichever one of the fasts you choose to follow you can drink which I didn’t know until I did my research I thought fasting meant no food or drink…Especially if you follow these short fasts.

Common Sense should have told me that we need to keep our bodies hydrated…There are so many lovely teas we can drink to help us stay hydrated while we fast.

I feel so much better my energy levels have increased and just overall I feel better. Fasting is not starving yourself it is just choosing when you eat.

For me, this is the way forward and I have lost quite a lot over the last 7 years BUT those little treats I mentioned started to notice on the belly etc… Which why I cut them out gradually I have also cut refined carbs and changed to brown /wild rice which will increase my fibre intake…But I actually prefer the taste of brown/wild rice, especially as now I know how to cook it properly…

This has kick started my inch loss and I do feel better for it…

I hope that you now find intermittent fasting a bit clearer…Thank you for reading any questions please ask I love to hear from you and always reply to my comments xxxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Works for me, Carol. I usually have a pretty substantial breakfast around 9 then I don’t eat again until our meal in the evening. If I’m meeting someone for lunch I don’t have a big breakfast, just some fruit. I do have a packet of baked cheese & onion crips before bed – it’s a treat the cat expects and I can’t disappoint her, can I? I did dry January (because I was concerned about how much wine I was drinking) and have hardly had any alcohol since then – an occasional glass of wine. I sleep so much better.

Of course not Mary a cat has to have her treats..haha..It sounds like you have it sorted I do the same if I am going out in the morning just change things around but I can’t eat too early..I know my sundowners were creeping up but I feel much better haven’t had the odd one yet but sure I will at some point and yes sleep is so much better…Have a great week 🙂 xx

Very interesting post Carol. Wow! Where do I begin? I think your intermittent fasting is doable, or at least I’m thinking I would be able to handle it. But is this forever and ever? I mean is this your new way of eating? Pray tell how you stopped the sundowners? 🙂 I feel it is my right to drink that glass of wine as I cook each night, that’s a great way to unwind and I get real excited about cooking. I’m not a heavy drinker by no means, just one glass of red wine, but will settle for cocktails like a g and t when we are out. I’ve tried to cut out all sugars, it’s tough as it can be in so many things other than dessert, but for the most part, I’ll only keep sweet things around if the family visit or we have company for dinner and I make desserts. I think it is very important to keep tabs on one’s weight/diet especially the older we get. I too take walks, exercise etc.etc. But gosh, the weight remains stagnant. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you, Loretta…Yes, I suppose it is forever as it suits my lifestyle I can’t eat more than 2 meals a day… Sweet things don’t bother me anymore and I truly can have one square of chocolate and that is that…At the moment I have a bar ( a gift) of dark chocolate and Durian fruit chocolate…I have 1 square a day and really enjoy it…That would never have happened a few years ago…haha..The whole bar would have been gone in one sitting. I shop mainly at local markets and sweets are not there to tempt me so I have gotten used to that over the last few years. My weight had stuck but I just made a few changes and it has kick-started it again…The biggest being cutting out alcohol completely…But I am sure at some point I will have the odd glass just don’t even want any at the moment. Let me know how you get on if you try the intermittent fasting it may be just what you need to kickstart your body 🙂 xxx Have a lovely week 🙂 xx

You are welcome, Sally it works well for me as well plus only eating 2 meals and maybe a snack but cutting sundowners and refined sugar the inches are dropping off as are the pounds although I am trying to maintain 10,000 steps at least 3 days a week my new phone has a built in fitness app so it measures my steps and it surprised me how many I do so looking at a watch to track my sleep etc as I can apparently connect the two…All this modern stuff…haha…Hugs xxx

How often I eat depends on my sleeping schedule, and how I’m feeling. I listen to my body. If I’m hungry when I get up and want breakfast right away, I have it. If I’m not, I wait until I am. Sometimes this means I go about 14 hours where I have nothing to eat. Other times I don’t end up doing that.

This is great info Carol. I was just talking about this topic with my nutritionist this morning and she believes it has merit. I haven’t had any alcohol since last August which is now over 6 months ago and haven’t missed it at all. I’ve never been a big drinker I’ll admit but I don’t even look for it when we’re out anymore. I’ve cut out most sugars and reduced my carbs but I’m not going keto just trying to eat healthy real foods and good fats. Very comprehensive post and shows that it can be done, good on you and thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you so much, Debbie..I haven’t missed alcohol although I haven’t stopped as long as you..Well done. I think it does and I definitely feel better not so sluggish and have more energy …I t sounds like you are pretty much doing what I am doing just eating healthily and like tonight I will have a pancake but that is a treat and I will enjoy it 🙂 xxx